Hernial truss.



J. C. KEIL.

HERNIAL TRUSS.

(Application filed. June 28, 1900.)

No. 658,651. Patented Sept. 25, E900.

(No Model.)

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I FFWEG .IOIIN CARL KEIL, OF LA PORTE, INDIANA.

HERNIAL TRUSS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,651, dated September 25, 190( Application filed June 28, 1900. Serial No. 21,911. (No model.)

To all wiwin it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN CARL KEIL, a citizen of the United States, residingat La Porte, in the county of La Porte and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trusses and Supporting Appliances; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved truss and supporter having for its object the production of a simple construction of truss and.

supporting appliance which may be worn without pain or inconvenience, which is selfadjusting and self-fitting and may be adjusted to suit the form, place of application,

and degree of pressure to be exerted, and

which may be employed as an ordinary truss for abdominal or scrotal hernia or as a supporter in uterine, abdominal, or anal displacement.

With this and other minor objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the complete device as designed for use as an abdominal supporter. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the truss device proper detached and on a larger scale. Fig.

With the parts in the same plane.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 represents the body spring or Waistband of the truss, which may be made of any suitable spring metal, either in the form of a stout steel wire or a flat spring bent to the proper shape and curved or bowed, so as to pass over and around the hips of the wearer in the usual manner, and 2 represents a band or plate to which the truss mechanism is applied in double hernia or abdominal displacement.

The truss proper comprises in its organization two longitudinally-extensible members 3 and 4, adjustably connected, so as to be moved at right angles to each other, an at- (aching-plate adjustably connected to one of said sections, so as to be turned at right angles thereto and adapted to receive the end of the waistband, and a pad mounted upon one of the members of the other section, so as to be adjusted to increase or diminish the pressure exerted, said member carrying the pad being also mounted, so that the pad may be adjusted both longitudinally of and at right angles to the section, so as to be adjusted to bear properly upon the part to be treated. The extensible section 3 comprises a sleeve or barrel 5, provided at one end with a toothed head 6, which cooperates with a correspondingly-toothed head 7 on one end of the connecting-plate 8,whic'h is secured to one end of the band 1 to support the truss upon the body of the wearer. A screw 9 passes through these heads 6 and 7 and serves to hold the same in locking engagement. Upon loosening the screw either one of the said heads may .be released from engagement with the other and adjusted at right angles thereto, as required, and then held fixed in adjusted position by tightening up the screw. The sleeve 5 is also provided with a longitudinal threaded bore 10, which opens through the opposite end of the sleeve from the said head 6, and in this bore is swiveled the other memberof the said extensible section 3, which consists of a screw or threaded stem 11, provided at its outer end with a toothed head 12, similar in all respects to the heads 6 and 7. By turning the screw or stem 11 in one direction or the other in the threaded bore 10 said screw or stem may be movedinwardly or outwardly, thereby increasing or diminishing the length of the section 3, as desired. A jam-nut 13 is mounted on the screw or stem 11 and is provided with finger-lugs 14, whereby itmay be conveniently operated. By rotating the nut so as to cause it to bind against the contiguous end of the sleeve 5 said sleeve may be held firmly and the screw or threaded stem prevented from rotating or swiveling'therein,

as will be readily understood. The other extensible section or member 4 is provided at one end with a head 6", which is toothed to engage with the toothed head 12 of the screw or stem 11, and through these heads is passed a binding-screw 9", similar in construction to the screw 9 and adapted to hold said toothed heads rigidly in connection. By this construction of the heads 6, 12, and 6 a clutch connection is formed between the connectingplate 8 and extensible section 3 and also between said extensible section 3 and the cooperating extensible section 4, whereby either of these parts may be adjusted at right angles to each other or to lie in the same plane, as will be readily understood. To facilitate the operation of the screws 9 and 9, each may be provided with a head or boss carrying a finger loop or ring 9 Which is adapted when not in use to lie snugly against the sections and so as not to come in contact with the body of the wearer. The sleeve 5 of the extensible section or member 4 is, like the sleeve 5, provided with a threaded bore 10*, in which is swiveled one arm of a substantially L-shaped screw or stem 11,which forms the com plemcntary part of the said member 4, and this screw may be adjusted to increase or diminish the length of said member in the same manner as the screw 11. The jam-nut 13 is arranged upon the screw 11 and is provided with finger-lugs l4 and may be adjusted to bear against the contiguous end of the sleeve 5 to hold the said stem 11 in adjusted position.

The pad 15, made of any approved shape and material to suit the kind of displacement treated, is provided in its outer or rear face with a recess which is occupied by a tubular sleeve or nut 16, carried by a retaining-plate 17, secured to the rear face of the pad. In this nut or sleeve 16 is swiveled the opposite arm 11 of the L-shaped screw or stem,whereby the pad is mounted thereon to be adjusted toward and from the sections 3 and 4 and at right angles thereto to increase or diminish the pressure to be exerted upon the part under treatment.

The truss hanger or bracket composed of the sections or members 3 and 4 may be lengthened or shortened by simply adjusting the screws or stems 11 and 11 and the parts 3, 4, and 8 turn at right angles to each other any desired degree to adapt the pad to be held at any desired angular position with reference to the waist or body band. The pad may also be adjusted in a vertical plane by moving the member 4 up or down or by partially rotating the screw. or stem ll within the bore 5, as will be readily understood. The pad may, furthermore, be adjusted toward and from the aforementioned parts by moving it in or out upon the screw or threaded stem 11, whereby it is held at right angles to the bracket, so as to bring its inner face to bear in a plane approximately parallel therewith.

It will thus be seen that the pad may be ad justed in a variety of ways to adapt it for treating displacements of various kinds of the character hereinbefore referred to.

In employing the truss for treating double hernia or abdominal displacement the band 2 is employed, and a truss device is applied at each end thereof and the waistband 1 connected to the toothed connecting-plates 8 to hold all the parts in proper position on the wearer, the resiliency of the band 1 serving to cause the band 2 and pads 15 to fit snugly and to bear firmly upon the parts being treated. By mounting the pad in the manner described -it is adapted to readily accommodate itself to the shape of the part under treatment and the motion of the wearer, and is therefore self-fitting and self-adjusting in action.

It will of course be understood that the pad may be made of any approved form and material to suit the character of displacement to be treated. It will also be understood that changes in the form, proportion,'and minor details of construction may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A truss of the character set forth, comprising longitudinally-extensible sections, a

clutch connection between said sections, and apad mounted upon a member of one of said sections and means for adjusting it toward and from the same and at right angles thereto, substantially as described.

2. A truss comprising extensible sections each consisting of a barrel having a threaded bore and a toothed head, a screw or threaded stem swiveled in the bore of one section and provided with a toothed head cooperating with the toothed heads of the other section, an L-shaped screw or stem having one of its threaded arms swiveled in the bore of the last-named barrel, a connecting-plate having a toothed head cooperating with the toothed head of the first-named barrel, screws adjustably connecting said sets oftoothed heads, jam-nuts on the swiveled stems, and a pad swiveled to the other arm of the L-shaped screw, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN CARL KEIL.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR F. CUTTER, EBER L. ANNIR. 

